Hello everyone!
My name is Elena Morgan. I'm from Kansas City, MO. I'm a senior here majoring in Religious Studies with minors in International Area Studies and Philosophy. Along with this course, this semester I'm taking a course on the Qu'ran, a Logic course, an honors colloquium on religious experience through biographies, and I'm doing my honors research project about a Satanist church that's holding a Black Mass in OKC in September. So, if you can't tell, my academic interests are a bit of a mixed bag! I like to study all different cultures through religion, and I especially enjoy the plethora of great courses offered at OU that have to do with non-traditional/non-Western religions (i.e. not Christianity or Judaism - not that there's anything wrong with those, but I like to study less familiar religions and cultures).
I'm involved in Phi Sigma Pi, a small coed honors fraternity, and Gamma Beta Phi, a service fraternity. I'm in the honors college, obviously, and I've been known to frequent some of their events. I did a couple of their book clubs these last two years, but I never stuck with them.. Oh well, I still got the free books!
I work every morning at a hotel breakfast, and between that and school I feel like I don't do much of anything else... I'm so boring, ha ha. And, to make it worse, I think I've actually run out of good TV shows to watch on Netflix. The horror!
I have a rat named Stella and a kitten named Ginny. They're my babies. Here is a picture of them:
(Stella and Ginny; photo taken by me)
Hmm, I need a few more words... so here's the story of Ginny. About a month ago I was browsing Facebook and a friend of mine from high school had posted that she'd rescued a stray kitten near her apartment complex. She couldn't keep the cat, and there were no no-kill shelters in her area, so she was asking if anyone wanted/was able to take Ginny in. Now, I may or may not have been living in a certain apartment complex that didn't allow pets at the time; but, I was thinking of getting a pet when I moved anyway, and there Ginny was pulling at my heartstrings. Oh, and my friend lives in Columbia, MO. So, on my day off work I drove seven hours to Columbia and seven hours back and harbored a fugitive cat in my apartment for a few months. And it was all totally worth it.
P.S.: I hope I haven't scared anyone off with my rambling about my cat. I feel like every pet owner loves to go on about their pets, and no one else really cares about their stories. I'm not a crazy cat lady, I promise (although I did post an inordinate amount of cat pictures to Facebook when I first got her).
That's all, folks!
Oh, what a fantastic line-up of classes, Elena! I bet you will experience all kinds of great cross-class connections and synergies. Super! And it sounds like this class will be a good one for you: although the focus of the class is on the epics-as-narrative, you can choose a more religious focus for your class project. There are so many important religious themes that you will find in these epics, including controversial topics like suttee just to take one example (I figure your research project is an indication that you are not shy of controversy!).
ReplyDeleteAnd FREE BOOKS: that is one of my favorite things in the world. As you'll see later in the semester in this class, you can choose to explore some Indian storytelling traditions that are part of my Myth-Folklore class, and I spent this summer creating a big (BIG) collection of reading materials for that class all from free public domain books online... including some great Indian materials! If you are curious to take a look, you can see the UnTextbook Table of Contents, and I'll be sharing free books every day in the announcements too. Thanks to the Internet, I will now never run out of things to read!!!
Quick note about the blog: there's one additional part of the Introduction assignment - adding a labels widget to the sidebar. That's something that will be a big help as you get visitors to your blog later on, so if you can add the labels thing now, that would be super. Here's how it works:
Introduction and Blog Navigation
Happy New Semester!
Your semester sounds really interesting! Religious practices can tell you so much about a culture, especially when they've been basically the same for a long time. Subcultures are also really fun to learn about. You get to learn about both this semester. It's great that you sound like you really, truly enjoy it, too!
ReplyDeleteThe story about your kitten was also really cute! It's awesome that you saved her even when you really weren't supposed to have her in your apartment.
Hey Elena,
ReplyDeleteIt feels like you know a ton of stuff about cultures I've never gotten to experience. I need to fit more time into my schedule to broaden my horizons like that.
In response to your comments on my intro, I discovered this class when browsing RateMyProfessor. I desperately needed a Non-western Upper Division class, and I have a tough schedule to work around so I needed it to be online. I also felt like I knew next to nothing about the subject, and thus I enrolled!
I'm jealous of you and your cat stories. I have yet to live in an apartment or rental house that allows animals. Hopefully that streak ends very soon.
Hello again, Elena! Funny finding you in this course; but what a nice surprise, haha. I still can't believe you're graduating a year early! To think that a couple of years ago we were freshmen together on Walker 10. . . Time really flies!
ReplyDeleteWhile I already knew quite a bit about you, I did not know that you had a cat and a rat. They are so adorable together!! I know if any of the cats I raised were near a rat it would not last more than a few minutes, so I really appreciate the cuteness of such an unconventional friendship, lol. I also find it fantastic that you harbored your cat in your apartment for a while; my older sister once did the same thing with a ferret at college, and I know there are a lot of fun stories that go along with that experience.
Hopefully since we are in an online class together, we'll get to interact more this semester--even if it is mainly online!! I look forward to reading more of your stories!
Hey Elena,
ReplyDeleteYou claim to be a boring person, but much of your introduction suggests otherwise. I think that the Black Mass is a great subject for an honors research project. I would also like to offer my sincere condolences in regard to your Netflix dilemma; it happens to the best of us. I think that it's great that you were willing to drive 14 hours to save that kitten. My family also loves animals. We have 5 horses, 3 dogs, a cat, and a bearded dragon. I look forward to reading more of your posts throughout this semester.
Hey Elena,
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have achieved many things throughout college! I am a senior too and I have always wanted to minor in religious studies as well but with pre medicine it was hard to take up. I admire you compassion for other religious that's awesome. Not going to lie I hate rats but your rat is the cutest and I love her name Stella! And ofcourse your kitty is also cute! Nice meeting you!
Hi Elena! It's so great that you're interested in exploring the lesser known religions. I'm actually also doing my honors research this semester, and for my project, I'm exploring cultures that consult mediums for healing and utilize music in their healing ceremonies. It's fascinating! Ginny is adorable, and it is so awesome how she became yours! You are totally not boring or a cat lady! You sound so awesome! I wish you all the best with your semester this year and look forward to reading more of your work!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey good morning Elena! I heard the course on the Qu'ran is really fascinating and I hope to be able to take it in the Spring. I'd have to agree that religion plays a major part in a regions culture and is thus a great way to get a more well rounded understanding of the people. The Black Mass in OKC sounds pretty interesting, I'm going to have to look into that. I wish you the best in your endeavors!
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is minoring in religious studies. I bet that is very interesting! Do you learn about all religions? Oh wow!! What has your research shown about that Satanist church in OKC!? I have been following that too!! Wow you sound very busy! I could not imagine being so involved and having a part-time job! Try Scandal or The Leftovers!! They’re the best!
ReplyDeleteHave a great semester and good luck!
Nice to meet you Elena! You honestly sound like such a cool person! The classes you are taking seem really interesting, I don't think I have ever heard of some of those classes. I can tell you are really passionate about what you are doing, and I think that is really awesome. I would love love love to hear about your research on the Satanist church in OKC sometime! I also love your cat story! I actually just got my own puppy last week and have found myself telling everyone about how I got him, so I can relate!! Good luck with everything this semester! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Elena! It’s great to meet you. I think that it is great that you are from Kansas City – it’s an awesome town. One of my mentors is doing his residency there, and he says that he really loves it. I think it’s really cool that you are taking a course on the Qu’ran – I’ve always wanted to do that, but I haven’t really had the opportunity to do so yet.
ReplyDeleteAnd WOW – that’s so cool to do your research project on the Satanist church that held the Black Mass in OKC in September. I’m a Christian, but the entire concept and idea of something like a “black mass” seems so foreign to me. I think today’s Christians are kind of sheltered like that. But I’d love to hear your thoughts on the event! I also appreciate that you enjoy studying religions and cultures less familiar than the ones that we are so exposed to nowadays.
If you are looking for shows to watch on Netflix, please consider House of Cards, Revenge, or Orange is the New Black. They might be a little pg-13 rated (Orange is the New Black might be even worse – same with House of Cards) but I think most college kids would enjoy them. Great to meet you!